Column: 1939 England and Wales National Register

Between today and Wednesday, my genealogy column, Roots to the Past, is available in the following Atlantic Canada newspapers:

Saturday: The Citizen (Amherst)

Saturday: Times & Transcript (Moncton)

Wednesday: The Lunenburg County Progress Bulletin (Lunenburg County)

Title: Column: 1939 England and Wales National Register

Snippet: War erupted in Europe seventy-six years ago. There was a high demand for able bodies to fight and support the war effort. Allied countries realised the importance of taking inventory of their greatest asset—those able-bodied individuals—so many created a National Register. Both England and Wales saw the importance of such an inventory and took stock on September 29, 1939.

The Register recorded the name, address, date of birth, marital status, occupation and other pertinent information for every individual, capturing historical data on forty-one million people. It was used as the basis for rationing, identity cards and, in post-war Britain, the National Health Service (NHS). It also helped organise conscription when the need arose during the war.

The paper version of the Register is available to view in person, but soon it will be accessible from anywhere with an Internet connection. More than a year ago, hundreds of workers began scanning, transcribing and digitising 1.2 million pages from 7,000 volumes of records.